Husband-and-wife team Chris and Pam Valverde are bringing their combined passions to the Port City with the soon to open Bone & Bean.
 
The restaurant will specialize in Texas-style barbecue as well and coffee.
 
Chris Valverde is a second-generation pitmaster from west Texas, and Pam Valverde is the former owner of a coffee shop in Washington state. Chris Valverde has long hoped to open his own restaurant, but Bone & Bean is a concept that just came to him recently.
 
“Once we found the space we kept trying to come up with a name,” he said. “I kept saying things over and over to myself as I rode around in my truck, and then all of a sudden it came to me … Bone and Bean. I couldn’t wait to tell Pam.”
 
And with that the idea to incorporate Pam Valverde’s love of coffee came into play. While she won’t have her full line of espresso drinks up and running on opening day, she hopes to soon offer high-quality coffee, Italian sodas and eventually blended drinks like frappes and milkshakes.
 
Bone & Bean’s menu will feature pork ribs, pulled pork, chicken, brisket, smoked sausage and smoked wings as well as chicharrones – deep fried pork skin – and a Texas favorite: Frito pie.
 
Sandwiches and platters are available, including a sampler and family platter, all served with homemade sides such as bacon mac and cheese, potato salad, pinto beans and slaw.
 
The Valverdes will offer daily specials such as whole roasted rabbit, lengua (beef tongue) tacos and pork belly tacos with watermelon jalapeno salsa and homemade corn tortillas.
 
“There’s a bit of a shock factor to some of these dishes,” Chris Valverde said. “But the flavor is amazing.”
 
He said all of the meats will be prepared with a dry rub and then smoked with hickory. While he plans to offer three sauces – a spicy and a sweet barbecue sauce and a vinegar-based sauce – none of the meats will be served sauced.
 
“If I do my job right, we shouldn’t be going through a lot of sauce,” Valverde said.
 
Bone & Bean is located at 3530 Carolina Beach Road. A July 25 opening is expected. For updates on opening, go to the restaurant’s Facebook page.

The restaurant fills the space of Old Cape Fear Smoked Meats, which opened there last year.

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